The Moon Pool
by Ayesha Altugle
Summary: Cleo, Emma & Rikki want to strip Charlotte of her powers. What happens if they are stopped? Mild mentions of Lewis/Charlotte & Lewis/Cleo, Friendship story.


**A/N: An alternative version of the Moon Pool scene where Charlotte is stripped of her powers. I think in the show Charlotte knew the pool would strip powers and was trying to get the girls into it and vise versa, but in this, she is unaware that the pool will strip a mermaid's powers. I believe Charlotte's character was treated quite badly. She did some not so great things, but nobody was innocent in the mess that happened. This story starts before the little battle of powers the girls have.**

* * *

Charlotte knew she went a little mad with power and jealousy, but the girls never gave her the chance to be their friend.

 _I know I was wrong! I shouldn't have done the stuff I did. Just look where it got us._ They were at the moon pool, three girls against Charlotte. She shook her head, red hair falling into her damp eyes. She tried not to let her tears overflow. The last thing she wanted was to have the others see her falling apart. Her back was to the pool. Cleo, Rikki and Emma were standing in front of her, hands raised in defensive postures.

 _The locket, the tail and the powers are all rightfully mine, right? It was all written in my grandmother's diary. Why do they think I'm such a horrible person?_ Her inner voice told her they thought she was a bad person because she had done some nasty things to them, though the other girls were not completely innocent in this. Charlotte backed away from them as they advanced on her. Things were getting a little out of hand and she wanted to apologize and tell them she did not want to play games anymore. She just wanted to be left alone for a while as she tried to figure everything out.

 _Lewis and Cleo broke up! We had every right to date, didn't we?_ Charlotte knew this was the main reason the girls kept everything from her in the first place. They were angry she and Lewis dated, even more angry about the fact that maybe, just maybe, Lewis had real feelings for her. She pressed her hand against the locket hanging around her neck.

"Look-" She started, but was cut off as the girls took another step toward her, almost making her fall backward and into the moon pool. At that moment, Lewis came tumbling down the tunnel that lead into the cavern. Charlotte raised her eyebrows, confused.

"Guys stop!" Lewis ran toward her and shoved Charlotte hard in the side, knocking her away from the pool.

It hurt, it hurt so bad. _He's back with Cleo now… does that mean all his feelings for me never meant anything? He's fully on their side! I never thought he would be the type to go so far as to physically hurt me._

"Lewis!" Cleo's said in a high pitched voice. She sounded betrayed. Charlotte had no idea why. Lewis had just proved he had no lingering feelings for her. "I thought we all decided this was for the best. She nearly exposed us!"

He hung his head, shame all over his face. "I couldn't go through with it, Cleo." Lewis looked between the three people who were his best friends and the new girl he had grown to care about. Everything felt so complicated. "It isn't right to take away what very well may be rightfully hers. She did get overzealous, but a lot of people let power go to their heads. She shouldn't have done the things she did and I think she knows that now."

Charlotte got off the ground, her legs shaking, not wanting to move. Every part of her body felt weak with exhaustion. She rubbed her sore elbow and leaned back against the cave. The girls were no longer looking at her; they were glaring at Lewis. But why? Why did Lewis' action say one thing and his words say another?

"She's a good person who did bad things, but you three are also good people who did bad things. You shouldn't have been so harsh toward her. You never even gave her a chance when you found out the mermaid was part of her legacy. It was wrong to keep secrets from her." Lewis stopped talking, trying to regain his breath. Charlotte noticed Cleo refused to meet his eye and the other girls no longer looked angry, more blank faced and not saying anything. Charlotte wondered if they were finally realizing how all four of them had been acting like school yard bullies, only made worse because they had mermaid abilities. She truly was sorry for her part in everything.

Lewis apparently wasn't done with his speech. He walked over to Cleo, putting a hand beneath her chin. "The locket, the powers and the tail are Charlotte's, not yours, Cleo. I'm sorry, I know it seems unfair because you three wanted the original matching lockets, but think how you would feel if someone found a family heirloom that belonged to a beloved relative and claimed finders keepers." He looked down, sadness clearly on his face, as if he thought telling the truth would ruin his friendship with the girls. Charlotte was speechless. His words were what she had been thinking from day one.

"The pool," Rikki said. Everyone looked over at it. The moon passed overhead, the pool started to bubble, and orbs of water spiraled up toward the top of the volcano. "It's done with," she continued, as the phenomenon stopped and the moon was out of sight.

"Lewis?" Charlotte murmured. The girls were no longer in defensive stances. Emma looked like she wanted to say something. She would usually be the first to apologize over something. Nobody spoke.

"Every 50 years there is a special full moon that will strip any mermaid of her powers. I was in on the plan and for my part, I'm sorry. I don't think I would forgive myself if I had gone through with it."

"I get it." She looked over at the girls. "You were going to force me in the pool?" They looked conflicted, but did not answer. "That's why you pushed me, right Lewis?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, Char. Did I hurt you?"

"Only a little, but I'll live." At least she knew he hadn't been trying to hurt her and in fact he had been trying to protect her. "I don't know what to say that will make you forgive me, even like me. I mean all I ever wanted..." Her voice wavered. "I've never had a place where I fit in or felt connected and then this mermaid stuff happened and I found out my grandmother was one and... I just got so jealous when you kept things from me. You hate me because Lewis dated me, I know. You're loyal to Cleo, but-" She bit down on her lower lip.

"I won't abuse my powers anymore and I will just try to stay out of your hair. The ocean is really big, after all." She walked over to the pool and set down on the edge. She hesitated, before jumping in. Ten seconds went by and she was swimming away as fast as her tail would take her.

* * *

Lewis was sitting at one of the tables outside JuiceNet Cafe. Cleo set down across from him. The waitress brought her a glass of water, promising to be back to take her order.

"Lewis." Cleo smiled at her boyfriend, though she wasn't sure the word boyfriend applied anymore. They had not done anything or talked in weeks. He was upset with her, Rikki and Emma's actions toward Charlotte and deep down, she could tell his mind was troubled. He had feelings for two girls.

Looking up, Lewis smiled. "Hey Cleo. Uh, how has it been?" The air around them felt heavy, almost painful.

"Fine. How have you been?" She put her hand softly on his shoulder. He didn't pull away, though he did not lean into the touch as past Lewis would have done.

"Great." He would not meet her eyes. Cleo felt her chest constricting. The water on the table started to bubble. He noticed, grabbing the glass and downing the water before there could be any explosions.

"I'm sorry about how it went down with Charlotte," Cleo finally burst out. "I was insanely jealous, you know that! Emma and Rikki were only backing me up. It all got way out of hand. All four of us did some crappy things." She pulled her hand away from him, sighing.

"You do know, Cleo..." Lewis was stuttering, his words coming really slow. "I care for you, I really do, but I'm having a hard time. A real hard time looking at you girls and myself the same way for what we were going to do to Charlotte. I keep thinking of how it could have backfired. What if something went wrong? What if she hit her head when you pushed her in the pool? She would be without powers, sure, but she could have been seriously hurt, too." His face was red and splotchy when he finished. He had been holding this in for a long time. He was not really angry at the girls, or himself, just really sad.

"This sounds like a speech before you get d-dumped." A small sob escaped Cleo's throat. "Are you breaking up with me, Lewis?"

He shook his head, looking down at the floor. "I don't know. I think for now we need space."

"S-see other people you mean? See Charlotte?" She looked unbearably young and frail at that moment, but Lewis knew he had to hold his ground.

"Maybe... I am not sure." He reached out and wiped a tear off Cleo's face, momentarily distracted with the thought of why the girls did not turn when they cried.

Cleo sniffed. "W-we won't hold it against her this time... if you do want to see her again," she said. "What you said in the cave was the truth. We were mean to her just because the two of you were dating and then she got so angry that she tried to get back at us. All four of us were at fault. We never tried to find out if she was a good person or not because we – I – Oh-" She lost her composure and started to cry. Lewis hated seeing her this way, but he knew this was for the best.

"I'm sorry Cleo. You deserve someone that only sees you."

That was enough to tell Cleo that Lewis had deeper feelings for Charlotte than he did for her, maybe even love. She wiped away her tears and nodded.

"Are we still be friends?"

"Of course, the best of friends," Lewis answered. He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, his lips lingering for a moment. The time they spent together had been great, but his feelings for her were not the same she had for him or else he wouldn't have fallen for someone else so easily.

* * *

Charlotte set at the beach one early Sunday morning. Her canvas set up in front of her, she painted the waves of the ocean, and the blues of the sky. The music coming from her headphones was serene, putting her at peace. This was the time of day she loved; when the world was untouched by other people. Lost in her own world, she did not notice when somebody set down next to her.

"I'm…." The rest of the words were muffled to Charlotte. She glanced up, pulling her headphones from her ears. Her mouth slightly fell open when she realized it was Cleo sitting in the sand, looking meek and small, her bare legs pulled up against her chest. Her face was puffy and red.

"What?" Charlotte put down her paintbrush and fully turned her attention to Cleo.

"I said I was sorry." Fresh tears spilled down Cleo's cheeks. "I was wrong. We all were." She scrubbed at her face, trying to stop the tears, though this only caused her cheeks to become more flushed.

Even after all Cleo and her friends did, and even after all Charlotte had done to them, Charlotte had the instinct to reach out and comfort her. She did not like seeing people cry.

"Thanks, but we were all at fault."

"We bullied you."

"I bullied you, too, and I went crazy with my powers."

"We tried to force you into the moon pool."

"I thought I was a "Super Mermaid" and got a big head because I could do more things."

"Okay," Cleo tentatively smiled. "Let's not make this a competition on who did the worse thing."

Charlotte looked down. "Yeah."

"He broke up with me again, you know?" Cleo pulled her knees tighter to her chest, dark hair falling over her face. Her sobs were a rhythmic wave of despair that stabbed deeper at Charlotte's heart. Of all people, Charlotte knew how Cleo felt. They both cared for Lewis and he had broken both their hearts.

"I'm sorry." Charlotte reached out and touched Cleo's shoulder. "It sucks, doesn't it?"

"Yes, but I'm going to be okay."

"So will I."

Cleo drew a finger in the sand, making random shapes. "He likes you a lot… more than he ever liked me. He just feels bad how this all ended. He doesn't think you'll take him back after the moon pool incident."

Before Charlotte would have been pleased to hear this, but now she just did not know how to feel. She liked Lewis a lot, but he left her, going back to Cleo and then he almost helped the girls strip her powers. At least he had a change of heart.

"I can't be with him right now," Charlotte finally said. "I'm too afraid I will be hurt worse and I don't mean because of being a mermaid."

"We have too much to worry about, boys just complicate things," Cleo said. "Besides who says girls need boyfriends?" She stood up, wiping sand from her legs. "Would you like to go for a swim?"

"Together? As mermaids..." They both laughed.

"Of course as mermaids."

"Yeah, okay!"

"And as friends?" Cleo held a hand out for Charlotte, helping her stand.

"Friends? But what about Rikki and Emma?"

"We've already had a long talk about everything. They're at Mako right now. I thought it better if only one of us approached you. I didn't want you to think we were ganging up on you or something."

Charlotte shook her head. "No, I- Okay, maybe I would have thought that." She ran a hand through her hair. "They're there, waiting for us?"

* * *

Cleo and Charlotte emerged from the moon pool to find Emma and Rikki floating in the water, looking up at the volcano opening.

"Yo," Rikki said. She always had a hard time trusting people, so she eyed Charlotte warily, but she seemed to be ready to make an effort if the other girls were.

"Hello," Emma said. She sounded friendly and was even smiling.

Charlotte couldn't help blushing, all three pairs of eyes were on her. "Hi."

Cleo pulled herself out of the pool. Rikki and Emma followed. Rikki used her heat powers to dry Cleo, and once she was dry, Cleo stood up, walked over to a box that was sitting on the cavern floor. Charlotte and the others were soon dry, Charlotte using her own powers on herself.

"Lewis is right. The locket belongs to you, Charlotte. However, one of the reasons we loved wearing them as a matching set is because it connected us as friends and as mermaids; they made us all feel really special." Cleo held up the box.

"It has been weeks since we tried to push you into the pool." Emma walked over to Cleo, standing next to her.

"We've been talking and wanted to prove that we are ready and willing to have a do-over." Rikki joined Emma and Cleo.

"Open this box, Charlotte," Cleo said.

Charlotte hesitated, but walked over and opened the box. She gasped. "Are those..." Inside the box were four handmade necklaces made from what looked like moon crystals, the clear blue stones that were embedded all over the volcano walls. They were bright and beautiful.

"You're a mermaid, too. We should stick together. You don't have to wear it, we understand if you'd rather wear your locket, but we thought..." Cleo reached in the box and put one of the crystals around her neck. Charlotte noticed then that the other girls were not wearing their lockets. One by one Rikki and Emma put on their own crystal necklaces.

 _They are offering me something that binds us together in a way,_ Charlotte thought, looking at the blue crystals, awe in her eyes.

"Thank you!" Charlotte removed her locket and exchanged it for the crystal necklace.

"So do-over?" Cleo put her hand out toward the others. Emma placed her hand on top of Cleo's, and Rikki put her hand on Emma's.

Charlotte stepped closer to them, smiled and put her hand over Rikki's.

"Do-over!" All four shouted, throwing their hands up into the air.


End file.
